BS ISO 11119-3:2020

What is ISO 11119-3 about?  

ISO 11119 is a series on gas cylinders. A gas cylinder is a pressure vessel for the storage and containment of gases at above atmospheric pressure. ISO 11119-3 specifies minimum requirements for the material, design, construction and workmanship, manufacturing processes, examination and testing at the time of manufacture for: 

• Type 4 composite fully wrapped cylinders or tubes with a non-load sharing liner and composite reinforcement on both the cylindrical portion and the dome ends 
• Type 5 fully wrapped cylinders or tubes without liners and with a test pressure of less than 60 bar and composite reinforcement on both the cylindrical portion and the dome ends 
• Water capacities up to 450 l 
• For the storage and conveyance of compressed or liquefied gases 
• Cylinders and tubes with composite reinforcement of carbon fibre, aramid fibre or glass fibre (or a mixture thereof) within a matrix 
• A minimum design life of 15 years 

Note 1: Cylinders and tubes manufactured and tested according to ISO 11119-3 are not intended to contain toxic, oxidizing or corrosive gases. 

Note 2: ISO 11119-3 does not address the design, fitting and performance of removable protective sleeves. 

Who is ISO 11119-3 for? 

ISO 11119-3 on gas cylinders is useful for: 

• Gas cylinder manufacturers 
• Design engineers 
• Quality control personnel 
• Research and development facilities 

Why should you use ISO 11119-3?  

Inside the cylinder the stored contents may be in a state of compressed gas, vapour over liquid,  supercritical fluid, or dissolved in a substrate material, depending on the physical characteristics of the contents. The purpose of ISO 11119-3 is to provide a specification for the design, manufacture, inspection and testing of cylinders for worldwide usage. The objective is to balance design and economic efficiency against international acceptance and universal utility. 

ISO 11119-3 aims to eliminate the concern about climate, duplicate inspection and restrictions currently existing because of lack of definitive International Standards and are not to be construed as reflecting on the suitability of the practice of any nation or region. 

ISO 11119-3 defines the batch of metallic liners as the number of liners of the same nominal diameter, length, thickness and design, made successively from the same batch of materials, subjected to the same manufacturing process and heat-treated to the same conditions of temperature and time.  

ISO 11119-3 also defines batch of non-metallic liners as the number of liners of the same nominal diameter, length, thickness and design, made successively from the same batch of materials and subject to the same manufacturing process. Using ISO 11119-3 you can design, construct and test fully wrapped fibre reinforced composite gas cylinders and tubes up to 450 l with non-load-sharing metallic or non-metallic liners or without liners. 

What’s changed since the last update?  

BS ISO 11119-3:2020 supersedes BS ISO 11119-3:2013. BS ISO 11119-3:2020 includes some technical changes with respect to BS ISO 11119-3:2013. These include: 

• References updated 
• 7.1.4 Minimum fibre stress ratios added
• 8.5.9 Drop/impact test. Addition of new alternative test for cylinders up to and including 50 l water capacity with dedicated compressed gas service. Addition of alternative impact test for tubes 150 l and above 
• 8.5.11 Fire resistance test. Changes to the procedure to make the test more consistent. Adding criteria for tubes above 150 l to be tested for 5 min 
• 8.5.12 Torque test is now only required for taper threads